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Tourist Trophy - "The real deal"

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: April 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I can't believe I'm the first person to write a review for this game! Let me first start out by saying that this is by far the best sport bike riding video game on the market. Nothing comes close. The MotoGP series is good... but Tourist Trophy is even better!

Now on to the review! The visuals within the "cockpit" view are fantastic, and this (for me) was the sole reason to purchase this game. I myself own a Yamaha YZF600 which is similar to the cockpit of the Yamaha R6. I haven't been able to ride due to the winter season, so I've been searching for a game that gives me that realistic riding experience. Tourist Trophy gives you that feeling, and you get that because you're looking at an actual snapshot of the cockpit to whichever bike you choose. It's dead on! So, to keep myself from going insane from not being able to ride right now, I just pop in Tourist Trophy, select the R6, choose the cockpit view, and I just ride! It's fantastic!

The graphics are stunning. If you've ever played Gran Turismo 4 then the graphics will be no surprise to you. If you're new to the whole Gran Turismo and Tourist Trophy games, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The scenery, the tracks, the bikes... everything just looks great! I find myself watching the replays a lot, which I usually hate, but the game just looks so good... it's hard not to watch the replays!

The sound from the bikes... way cool! They all sound like the real thing, so if you're ever curious to what a GSXR sounds like at a 150 miles per hour, get the game and found out for yourself. The music is descent, however when playing in the arcade mode, I have found the music to repeat certain tracks too frequently. There's a huge play-list of songs that you can access through the menu, but I haven't heard a good 90% of the songs. What gives? In any case the music is good.

There are a few modes to choose from. One on one, Arcade, Campaign, and head to head. I can't write much about the campaign (Tourist Trophy Mode), as I have just received my novice license in the game, which allows you to enter some of the rookie races. If it's anything like Gran Turismo 4, then its safe to say that the campaign mode in Tourist Trophy is solid. Arcade mode is fun, although I can't get the R1 in Arcade mode. Do I have to unlock this? Head to Head is fun, and time trial is of course racing against yourself... which is what racing is all about.

No online play, which would have been nice. Arcade mode doesn't have a difficulty select option, (easy, normal, hard). Besides that, this is a great game. There is a learning curve with this game so prepare yourself. Practice, practice, practice... There is nothing worse than playing a racing game, and not being able to keep your vehicle on the track. Go through the training courses and read all the briefings before you ride. They will help you to stay off the grass, and moreover... from crashing!

Tourist Trophy is a great game. Going in and out of shadows and whipping past trees at 200 miles per hour is a pretty cool feeling, and Tourist Trophy does a great job of capturing the "speed rush" you get from riding a crotch rocket in real life. Take it from a fellow rider, Tourist Trophy is a great riding simulator and is pretty darn close to the real thing.

Must Try

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Ok this game is basicly GT4 with bikes. If you loved GT4 you'll love this game. but be prepared its less forgiving and takes a little bit to get use too. You do not earn money in this game. You must win your bikes. Either by challenges or winning races. Which adds to the overall challenge of the game. You can't just buy a bike and overpower it and win any race you want.(like GT4). PD also added a new course and changed some of the old ones. Found myself running into walls that shouldn't have been there. If you haven't tried this game yet do so. Rent, buy, borrow. What ever. Warning you'll want to own it.

The creators did their research

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I just bought this game a few days ago but I have been playing nonstop. I will start off & say that this is one of those games that has great replay value. Having own & ridden several bikes in this game & being a seasoned sport rider, I can honestly say that the creators did their homework on each motorcycle. I believe they actually recorded the sounds of the real motorcycles & synchronized them with the online RPM gauges. They even went through the trouble to add the sound of the rev-limiters on the engines. This is the sound that you hear when you over rev the engines to prevent blowing up the engines. The cockpits are consistent with the real motorcycles. What I think is really cool is how accurate this game captures the power & handling ability of each motorcycle in comparison to the real bikes. Example, the tendency that the GSXR 1000 has a tendency to power wheelie through third gear. The superior handling that the CBR1000 has while in the twisties. The sluggishness of the Hayabusa in tight corners. Also just like the real world of sport bike riding just because you have a bike with greater power you will still get beaten by better riders on less powerful machines. It's all there. Also, I don't know if many of you understand the importance of this function but you can even customize your rider's riding style. Considering I ride this way myself to attack tight high speed corners, you can make your rider hang off of the bike & lean his body as opposed to keeping the rider on the bike & lean the bike more while attacking tight corners. Try this & you will see that your cornering ability will be much more efficient. Also what is really neat is the riding school that you can attend in the campaign mode is very accurate as far as the exercises that you have to use in the real world of sport bike riding, such as high speed braking before entering tight corners. I only hope that the creators re release this game in a few years with the new motorcycles that will be produced. I honestly think that this can be a tool to actually test ride the bike before you buy it. :)

Finally some competition for MotoGP

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Since the release of the PS2 the only superbike simulation worth getting was MotoGP, and what a great superbike simulation series that was, and still is. It was hard to imagine any other bike simulator could compete, or would even want to try and compete with what seemed like the greatest bike simulation series ever made. Yet the makers of Gran Turismo have gone and done just that. First of all there is no need to wait for a PC port of the console game to have things like a driving test and camera angle changes and more settings. Tourist Trophy does it all and then some more. You can change your colors, your gear, go to the garage, tune up, buy parts and compete just like the Gran Turismo series does. In terms of graphics I would say that it is currently on par with the MotoGP series, with the MotoGP series possibly slightly ahead in having a more realistic replay, but that is not to say that TT can't pull a few tricks out of its sleeve, and it does, in aces, because this is Gran Turismo, with bikes, producing some street racing modes like its big brother car version - Gran Turismo 4. It would be better if you could actually race with cars on the roads! I would highly recommend that all MotoGP lovers get this. It is a real surprise deal and as we all know, the superbike simulators are some the best racing sims around.

Good, but can it dethrone MotoGP3?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Yes, the graphics are great. Yes, it has the same tracks as Gran Turismo--is that a good thing? Not sure if it completely supports this, but it seems as though it might also support 1080i, which would make it look even more fantastic.

But the main things it's missing is feel, physics, and great 2 player.
I never feel like there is any connection between the throttle and the rear tire. MotoGP3 has spot-on feel and telegraphs extremely well through the dual shock controller. On throttle and brake you can feel the limit of grip shockingly well. On this? The controller is dead in my hands.
For physics, it seems like there are certain areas on the track the bike doesn't even come close to doing what you want it to---I don't know the track name off hand but there is a downhill straight followed by a left kink and a left turn that goes under a bridge (Apricot?) and if you come down pretty fast the computer tosses you to the left side of the road without explanation when you hit the kink. The physics are generally quite good, but there are some inexplicable things that go on in bizarre areas. I realize it's supposed to be mimicing elevation changes in some areas, but it's just not all that realistic.

Also, it doesn't seem to suck me in. It's really quite easy, as are all the tests. Does that mean it's bad? Heck no, but it takes a BIG back seat to MotoGP3. A friend and I play head-to-head all the time (almost weekly) and TT doesn't have as much entertainment, nor will you run with other bikes when you're playing 2 player.

Gee, you can change the color of you bike and your gear. That makes for a great game!!!!!! Who needs good AI of other riders when you can have a shiny bike that's color coordinated with your leathers? There is a very detailed riding editor which is fun to get the rider in a better position, but I don't know how much it affects the physics.

All the games have the problem of not letting you choose horizontal split screen on a 16:9 screen--you typically have to change to 4:3 on the PS2, then 16:9 on your screen to get horizontal split, but the bikes look pudgy. If you select 16:9 it defaults to vertically split, meaning you can see 3 feet to the side of each motorcycle--not helpful at all.

Just some thoughts to add on to other reviews...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 10
Date: May 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

What can I say...I've decided to write a review after playing quite a bit of this game and noticing that there aren't many other reviews out for this game. Interestingly enough, like some other reviewers here I also owned a Yamaha, a FZ6 (the R6, not the FZ6, is in this game). Since on TV ads they pitch this as "created by the makers of Gran Turismo", I'll mostly compare it to that game.

Compared to GT4:
Basically, you just have four licenses Novice-Junior-Expert-Super, and Super of course consists of one lap times. This is much easier to do than GT4, and unlike that game you could make a little mistake in your racing/braking lines and still do pretty well or excellent. Overall, I think the fact that its easier to do makes it more palatable to a general audience interested in motorcycle riding/physics.

Like other reviewers note, this game's challengingness is much more doable than GT4. Therefore, you don't really need to be a super-master at using the analog stick to clear most of the game (whereas you'd kind of really need the Logitech steering wheel+a good table/seat for GT4). It seems the game really just wants you concentrating on good racing lines, braking points, and most importantly, not falling.

There's no more of that annoying "car wash" thing either. You just challenge one-race at a time for bikes, take pictures of your riding, and go on to finish championship races for more special bikes/apparel. Just like GT4, you're really only going to enjoy this game if you enjoy becoming better as you notice it.

While not all of it, I do believe a very good deal of the courses in GT4 are available in this game. There are brief descriptions of the manufacturers and each bike (although they are the same on the Tourist Trophy website), which I really like.

Overall:
I think it's a good game, especially if you're interested in riding a motorcycle for the first time and are already acquainted very well with driving cars (as I was) or are a fan of GT4. The game will at the very least show you the different racing dynamics (with regards to braking and acceleration) compared to cars, so you won't be surprised in real life if the bike does something different (and you get nervous and/or fall because of that). For example, with cars you would pretty much do full braking immediately in a straight line and with FF/MR cars you would sometimes do left foot braking during cornering for better manipulation of the car. With bikes its pretty much gradual trail-braking into the apex with shifting allowed--more understandable if you play the game.

Suggestions/Comments:
While the Japanese manufactureres are obviously well-represented, I do wish they had Harley-Davidson's (although some of the Buell models are there) and more offerings from the Italian/German manufacturers. For these manufacturers, mostly the top-end is represented (900cc+), so it did make me wonder where their 600cc models are (as I wanted to see what they played like in a simulation).

While I personally never played the MotoGP series (I remember faintly playing the very first one, which obviously wasn't that realistic--although no racing games really were at the time, frankly) I do think the other reviewers' comments about having a money system or something more goal-oriented is quite valid. The physics engine is a bit cheezy occasionally, where you'd make a corner when you shouldn't have and the converse. I'd guess its because of the big difference between controller and real life hand/foot inputs. Anyway, the handling characteristics of each bike becomes quite clear, making it a fine substitute for test-driving one. I'm sure that's why people buy GT4, as well.

Finally--I personally got into an accident early on with the FZ6 (despite my very conservative nature--culprits were fatigue and inexperience+the disparity between my long-time car driving techniques/methods), and while I was the only one hurt the police gave me a tough time (I had to hire a top lawyer more expensive than the bike and insurance combined for 20 minutes of court time as the charges were for little reason serious). I had to do this because, as one would expect, the court system's (and hospital, although much less so) disdain for motorcycles was apparent and I figured my introvertedness with stoicism was not going to play well in the court--as I personally know it gives off a negative initial image (at the same time though I guess they do deal with people who are constantly aggressive and base their views on that). It's very hard to say sorry (and I didn't) when the hearing magistrate tells you immediately that you're mentally "slow" or "stupid" when you answer the question "will you get back on a motorcycle?" with a simple "yes", or that he implied not so faintly for me to say that the crash was a message by God to stop riding (which I also did not say) and my biggest apology privately went to the bike and to those I inconvenienced if any near the scene of the accident. Obviously, don't let this happen to you because you fell in a very bad neighborhood and wear some decent gear. Short of saying that this game will prevent that, I am sure it would have prevented the personal fatigue that came with adjusting from ingrained car to bike (but I guess most bike rikers learned the bike first).

While I will hop back on--preferably on a race track, in a different state from where the crash happened, and definitely not to endanger others of course (like some senior citizens in their biggy Buicks or Ford Explorers--j/k)--the financial expense and emotional jarring to me as a college student has been enough to prevent me from riding again until I at least finish my undergraduate degree with passing of some professional accounting and finance examinations. If I didn't crash, I would still have been enjoying the FZ6's company during this period of hard study (which I do want). I'm just saying choose your destination carefully and be wary of fatigue--not your current state but the state that you expect it to be near your destination. Also, don't expect leniency from the court system even if you, like me, use your signals 100% of the time, don't tailgate, don't speed faster than the flow of traffic, and in general is very considerate for the welfare of others. I personally think that I should have hired the lawyer from the start (the hearing) rather than going to it expecting some small talk from a human being concluding with my real apologies (I personally cannot lie, even if it is occasionally a very unfavorable thing to do) and just a large fine (which the police officer who handed me the ticket after my hospital operation said would happen--it did not, and I was very close to having a criminal record left). Not to scare away prospective riders--but I just wanted some, especially those very conservative, to know what is the worst that could happen in a single crash.

Hope this helps, in both the real and virtual world.

Tough motorcycle Game to Play

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: May 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game has realistic graphics and sound and I had heard that it was a fun game however I discovered that the controls were too sensitive and spent most of my time crashing. It has a very difficult learning curve and the slightest push one way or the other on your joystick will have you eating the pavement (especially in the curves). If you're still thinking about buying this game, rent it first.

Well done

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: May 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Looking for an arcade motorcycle racing experience? Well, you'd better look elsewhere, because Tourist Trophy is for racing simulation fans only. For starters, Tourist Trophy is from the makers of Gran Turismo, so that should tell you what you're in for here. The learning curve is very steep as you have a plethora of bikes and tracks to choose from, all of which are difficult to get a hold of to say the least. The physics are the most realistic you'll see in a motorcycle racing game, and you'll be crashing plenty until you get the hand of it. For a PS2 game the graphics are surprisingly sharp, some of the best to be seen in a racing game on the platform. That said, Tourist Trophy is not a game for racing novices. For fans of Gran Turismo, Tourist Trophy should prove to be a worthy distraction, but if you're speed in racing games is limited to Need for Speed games, then this is definitely not for you.

Not that "real" to be the Real Riding Simulator

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Considering the Gran Turismo pedigree, I have to say I'm a little disappointed by this, what should and could have been the definitive motorcycle game. Instead I'm left feeling the game's lacking major incentives to play it, the physics engine lacked development, and the game generally feels unfinished and in serious need of a polish.

For starters, the lack of the currency system that make the GT games so playable is completely non-existent. Considering this code already exists in GT (and so much is obviously lifted straight from it), why was it not included? I want to win money and spend it on my dream bikes, not race my guts out to be awarded a dog of a 1980's 250cc or something like that! And what would I want or even care to change my helmet and leathers? It says something about what's otherwise lacking that they have to make a point of telling you that for completing a race you've unlocked yet another set of near identical riding wear.

The graphics are of course pretty spectacular, apart that is from the on-board cockpit views. (Which is *the* only way to play in my opinion.) The cockpits are blocky, blurry lacking in colour, definition and contrast, like bad photos added at the last minute. I like the way the bike shifts under you properly, rather than the rider's view being like a fixed camera on the tank as in so many other bike games, but the graphics here are usually pretty awful. Take a look at the mirros on the MV Agusta and it looks like the graphics are made of Lego. It just looks unfinished in my opinion.

The physics engine is something of a mixed bag. Setting the controller to Pro mode in the options gives separate front and back brake control, and while you can drift the rear, it seems impossible to lock the front. Instead you can grab full front brake while over on it's side mid-corner and you'll be fine, no chance of locking and washing the front out. Similarly, it seems equally hard to made the rear loose grip on acceleration, especially when banked hard over. Completely unrealistic for the larger capacity sports bikes. The best and most complete motorcycle physics model I've ever seen was Superbike 2000 on the PC. It's a shame that Polyphony couldn't at least replicate the fidelity of that.

It seems there's some glaring omissions and odd choices in the bikes included too. Where's the iconic '94 Ducati 916? The original '91 Fireblade, or classic GSX-R1100? Instead we've got about 100 bikes, half of which you'll never, ever be tempted to try. Maybe some of the omissions are down to licensing difficulties (perhaps the 916 is already soley licensed to Ducati's bike game of a year or two ago, for example?) To be fair, it could be some of my most longed-for bikes are locked until later stages, though I don't see them in any of the various selection menus.

And what's with the racing? All the races I've tried so far in TT mode I've been racing against a sole competitor, with no practice or qualifying stages, and he gets to start about 1/2 mile ahead! What kind of fun is that?!

To sum up, it's ok, but falls a long way short of what I was hoping for. After the greatness of GT4, Polyphony have stumbled a little on this one.

Practice safe motorcycling

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

You may not like this game unless you're a motorcycling enthusiast, especially on the more realistic handling settings. That said, the game still plays a bit arcade-like, but that's probably a good thing in this case.

Tourist Trophy is good start to a mostly un-touched racing genre. It would have been nice for a lot more depth (more race modes, more bikes, more of everything) like it's automotive-cousin (the Gran Turismo series), but I'm willing to bet the next one will be a bit of an upgrade now that they have the engine tweaked for motorcycles.

It's great for me, a fan of the GT series, that most of the tracks are still the same, it makes it easy to jump in and start playing. 2 player battles are a lot of fun, especially if you have motorcycle friends.

The "real riding simiulator" is anything but accurate, but it certainly doesn't mean it's a bad game. Those looking for a pure arcade motorcycle experience will be disapointed.

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